enteenth chapter of John's gospel, where we read as follows: "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said-Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee; as thou hast given him. power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life, to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God,and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." In this passage, I would beg leave to observe, sir, that our Saviour calls his Father, with the exclusion of the Son or any other being, the only true God; and himself, not God, but the Christ or Messiah, whom God had sent; and to know, or receive them as such, he declares to be life eternal. Another observation, which forcibly obtrudes itself on my mind, (and I beg of you, sir, to believe that it is made, not in the spirit of reproach, but in the spirit of perfect charity and good will,) is, that it appears to me, that the popular doctrine of the Trinity, is directly at variance, with this solemn declaration of our Saviour, while the Unitarian faith is in perfect and literal accordance with it. Unitarians acknowledge, in the very words of their Lord, the Father to be the only true God. Trinitarians contend that he is not the only true God, but that the Son and the Holy Ghost are also God, equally with the Father. Unitarians believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, or Messenger whom God has sent. Trinitarians, on the contrary, maintain, that he is the Supreme God himself. But if so, it was not possible that he could be sent. The phrase to be sent, includes in itself the idea of a change of locality, or of moving from one place to another. But such an idea can only belong to a finite being, capable of being limited by time and space, and cannot possibly be predicated of that God, who fills the whole Universe with his presence; and hence, to make the Lord Jesus the Supreme God, contradicts not only his declaration in this place, but in many other passages of Scripture, in which he declares that God sent him. Does not a doubt sometimes obtrude itself on your mind, sir, whether a system, which is thus irreconcilable with the plainest declarations of scripture, may not, after all, be erroneous? I have thus endeavored to establish, that it was not as God, but as the Messiah or Christ, that Jesus offered himself to the Jews; and I shall now proceed to prove, that it was in this latter, character, that he was believed by his disciples, and rejected by the multitude. Let us commence with those who believed. John the Baptist, to whom Jesus was made known, as the Son of God or Messiah, by a special revelation from Heaven, announces him as such to his disciples; (a) and we find that first Andrew, the brother of Peter,(b) and subsequently Philip,(c) and then Nathaniel,(d) recognize him in that character. It was as the Christ, that he was believed on in Sychar, first by the woman who met him at Jacob's well,(e) and afterwards by many of the citizens of that city;(f) and it was in the same character,that he was acknowledged by many of his own countrymen-see John vii. 26, 31, 41. I might greatly multiply the proofs on this subject, but that would evidently be superfluous; and I shall content myself with observing, that it was as "the son of David," as their expected Messiah, that the multitude accompanied him with shouts of triumph on his entrance into Jerusalem, immediately preceding his last sufferings.(g) But, sir, although many of the Jews thus acknowledged Jesus, to be the Messiah or Christ,yet we have not the slightest reason to believe, that even in the moments of their strongest conviction, a single one of them, ever believed him to be the Supreme God. We have the positive testimony of two of the evangelists,(h) that they believed him to be a prophet;— and even in a moment of the greatest excitement, accompanying his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, they look upon him in no higher character. When inquired of, who he is, they answer, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the prophet of Galilee." We find also that the sick, and the blind, when they apply to him for relief, address him, not as God, but as the Son of David,(i) or the Christ; and the multitude, when they witness his miraculous cures, never for a moment attribute them to a power properly his own; but they glorify God, which has given such power unto men."(j) But perhaps it will be said, by some Trinitarians, who, on this point differ with you, sir, in opinion, that the proper Deity. of Jesus, was not, previous to his death, revealed to the multitude, but merely to his more immediate disciples. Let us then now examine, how he was viewed by these latter. With the family at Bethany, Jesus lived in habits of close intimacy. The evangelist tells us, that "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.(k) He himself had been their teacher, and here then we have those, who must have known him in his real character. And now, how do these view him? When Martha, after the death of her brother, meets Jesus, she accosts him with these words: "Lord, if thou hadst been a John i. 34. b John i. 41. c John i. 45. g Matt. xxi. 9. h Matt. xvi. 14: Mark vi. 15. places. j Matt, ix. 8. k John xi. 5. d John i. 49. e John iv. 29. f Jolin iv. 42. i Matt. ix. 27: xv. 22, and in many other here, my brother had not died; but I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee."(a) The address of Mary is similar to that of her sister.(b) Now from this address of Martha, we clearly learn two things. The first is, that she did not consider Jesus, to be the Omnipresent God, but a being capable of being limited by time and space. Her words are-Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. The second thing we learn from it, is, that Martha did not consider the power, by which our Lord wrought his miracles, as properly his own, but as something, for which he was dependent on God. "I know," says she, "that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." As to who Martha thought our Saviour to be, that we are not left to gather by doubtful inference; we have her confession of him, in her own words, in the 27th verse, when she says, “I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." But perhaps some may suppose, that the secret of the proper death of our Saviour, was in the beginning only confided to his disciples alone. Let us then now inquire, in what light these viewed him. The apostle John tells us, John ii. 11, that after Jesus's first miracle at Cana of Galilee, "his disciples believed on him."This is a fact we must bear in mind. It shews that, from the beginning of his ministry, his disciples received him in his true. character, however imperfect their conceptions, or however wavering their faith might be. Whether they received him. as Almighty God, or merely as the Messenger of Jehovah, remains to be seen. We have already seen, that Andrew, Simoh Peter's brother, and Philip, acknowledged him as the promised Messiah.(c) On one occasion, when Jesus rejoins his disciples in the ship, by walking on the sea, we are told, that those in the ship "came and worshipped him, saying-Of a truth thou art the Son of God."(d) On another occasion, when many of his followers left him, Jesus asks the twelve, whether they also will go Peter answers, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou away. a John xi. 21, 22. b John xi. 32: c John i, 41 and 45: d'Matthew xiv. 33-Some Trinitarians may suppose that they have here a clear instance, in which the disciples paid divine honors to Jesus, because it is said in the text, that they worshipped him. To such I would observe, that the term, translated to worship, means in the original, prostration or to do reverence, and is used, alike to express the homage done to God, or the civil reverence rendered to a superior. It is used in this latter sense, Matthew xviii, 26. In every case where we meet with this word, the precise degree of homage intended to be expressed by it, must be gathered from the known relative situation of the parties. In the instance under consideration, it is clear from the very words of the disciples, that they prostrate themselves before Jesus, as the Son of God or Messiah. hast the words of eternal life; and we believe, and are sure, that thou art the Holy One of God."(a) But there is one passage, which appears to me to be completely decisive on the subject now under consideration. Matt. xvi. 13, 17, we read, "When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying "Whom do men say, that I, the Son of man, am?" And they said-"Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." He said unto them-"But whom say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said unto him-"Blessed art thou, Simon Bargona; for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." Here, then, we have the memorable confession of Peter, a confession which must be strictly correct, as being the result of divine revelation; and now, what is its import? Do He, and his fellow-disciples in whose name he speaks, recognize Jesus as the Supreme God? There is not a word in his confession, which has even the semblance of such a meaning. He simply professes his belief in his Master, as the Christ-the Son of God-the long expected Messiah, or as the evangelist Luke has it: Luke ix. 20, as "the Christ of God." The subject lengthens under our hands, and it is time to bring this letter to a close. In another letter we shall continue and conclude our remarks on the subject under consideration. H. aJohn vi. 67, 69. It is deserving our notice, that the profession of faith of Peter is literally the same with that of the Unitarians of the present day; and yet, that profession, which was so satisfactory to the Saviour, as to draw down on Peter his memorable benediction, is now deemed so unsatisfactory, by the mass of professed Christians, that they deny the christian name, and exclude from christian communion, those who make it.— Surely the standard of christian faith, must have been strangely altered since the days of the Saviour! WHAT BALM CAN HEAL THIS HEART OF MINE! WHAT balm can heal this heart of mine? And bid the billows cease to roll. GERMAN CAVALRY SONG. FROM T. KÔRNER. 1.. ON, brothers, on! with sweeping wing-the world before you opens free; Though spread around with art and wile, the foeman's deadly nets we see, On, noble steed; my fiery barb,.dash on--to where the oakleaf crown Floats high, and bear thy master's form, the battle's joyous sword dance down. 2. The rider, carried high in air, goes forward with unconquered soulThe dust beneath his charger's feet, his rushing blood cannot control; And far behind lie care and want; his wife, his children, and his hearth; His sword alone beside him hangs-Freedom or Death before his path. 3. Thus to the joyous marriage-feast he goes, a bridal crown to win, 4. Ah! very sweet that sleep shall fold thee. Passionate thy dreams and warm; Faithfully thy true one watches, holding close thy slumbering form. But when the German oaks shake out their buds in fluttering leaves again, In a better world she 'll wake thee, to eternal freedom's reign. 5. Little will their mockery help them, when our God the victory gives- J. F. C. ART. VI.-PRESBYTERIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY. Every body knows, that Dr. Beecher and Dr. Wilson spent a week or more, not long since, in disputation before the presbytery and the public, each attempting-so we think it might be stated-to prove that he and his party were christians. But the way in which each attempted to show that he received christianity in its pure and undefiled form, was by showing that he and his party believed the confession of faith, according to its original meaning. Now we think, that before |